Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1887-06-11

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struggling street toward the wide plains be-
yond, and then turned to enter the inn again
and prepare for their homeward drive. As
they did so, an old Boer, named Hans Coetzee.
with whom John was already slightly &C.
quainted, came up, and, extending an enor-
mously big and thick hand, bid them aGooden
dag" Hans Coetzee was a very favorable
specimen of the better sort Of Boer, and
really came moro or less up to the ideal pict-
ure that IS so often drawn of that simple
pastoral people," He was q very large, stout
man, with a fine open face and q pair Of
kindly eyes. John, looking at him, guessed
that he could not weigh less than seventeen
stone, and he was we'll within the mark ut
that.
allow are you, capteinN he said in English.
for he could talk English well, land how do
you like the Transvaal?-must not call It
South African Republic now, you know, for
that's treason" and his eyes twinkled merrily,
II like it very much, meinheer," said John.
"Ah, yes, it's a beautiful veldt, especially
about here-no horse sickness, no blue
tongue and a good strong grass for the cat
tie. And you must find yourself very snug
at ON (Uncle) Crofts there; it's the incest
place in tho district, with the ostriches and
Nil. Not that I hold with ostriches in this
veldt; they are we'll enough in the Old Col
ony, but they won't breed here-at least. not
as they should do. l tried them once and l
know; oh, yes, l know"
"Yes, it is a very fine country, meinheer. 1
bave been all over the world almost, and
| never saw a finer"
"You don't say SO, now! Almighty, what
a thing it is to have Travelled! Not that 1
should like to travel myself. 1 think that the
Lord meant US to stop in the place he has
made for us. But 1t is a fine country, aud
dropping his voice. l think it is n finer
country than it used to be-"
"You mean that the veldt has got 'tnme.'
meinheer."
NAY. nay. mean that the land is English
now" he answered, mysterioungly, land
though darc'not say SO among my volli, |
hope that it will keep English. When 1 was
Republican, was Republican, and it was good
in some ways, the republic. There was so
little to pay i'll taxes, and we knew how to
manage the black volk; but now l am Eng
lish, l am English. l know the English gov
eminent means good money and safety, and
IL there isn't a raad assembly now, we'll,
what does it matter! Almighty, how they
used to talk there!-clack, clack, clack!
Just like an old black koran species of
bustard) at sunset. And where did they run
the wagon Of the republic to-Burgers and
those ID H%ollanders of his, and the rest
Of them! Why, into the sluit-into a slut with
peaty banks; and there it would have STONED
till now, or till the flood came down and
swept it away, il old Shepstone-ah. what a
tongue that man has, and how fond he is of
the kinderchies!-little children)-had not
come and pulled it out again. But look here.
captcin, the volk round here don't think like
that. It's the 'verdomde Britisch GOVERN
ment' here and tho 'verdomde Britisch
government there, and 'bymakaars' meet
lngs) here and 'bymakaals' there. Silly
volk, they all run one after the
other like sheep. But there it is, cap
TEN, and l tell you there will be
fighting before long, and then our people
will shoot those poor rooibaatjes ued jackets,
OF yours like buck and take the land back.
Poor things! l could weep when | think
of it,"
John smiled at this melancholy p,opnosti-
cation, and was about TO explain what a poor
show all the Beers in the Transvaal would
make i'll front of a few British regiments
when he was astonished by a sudden change
IN his friends manner. Dropping his enor-
nous paw on to his shoulder, Coetzee broke
into a burst of somewhat forced merriment,
the cause OF which was, though John did not
guess it at the moment, that he had Just per-
ceiVed Frank Muller, who was in Walker
stroom will u wagon load of corn to grind
ut the mill, standing within five yards, and
apparently intensely interested in Aippinp
at the flies with a cowrie made of the tail Of
a vilderbeeste, but in reality listening to
Coetzee's talk with oil his ears.
"Ha, ha! 'nef'" hephow), said old Coetzee
to the astonished John, mo wonder YOU like
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. are other moot pretty)
things there besides the water. How often
do you opsit (sit up at night with Uncle
Croft's pretty girl, oh! I'm not quite as
blind as an ant bear yet. saw her blush
when you spoke to her just now. saw her,
Well, well, it is a pretty game for q young
man. isn't it, 'nef' Frank" this was ad-
dressed to Muller. "Ill be bound the cap
tein here burns a long candle with pretty
Bessie every night-eh, Frank! I hope YOU
amt jealous, 'nef'? My vrouw told me some
time ago that you were sweet in that di-
rection yourself" and he stopped at last, out
OF breath, and looked an1iously toward Null
Ter for an answer, while John. who had been
somewhat overwhelmed at this flow of bu-
collie chaf, gavc n sigh of relief. As for
Muller he behaved in q curious manner, In
stead Of laughing, as the jolly old Boer had
intended that he should, he had, although
Coetzee could not see it, been turning blaoker
and blacker; and o that tho flow of
language ceased he, with a savage ejaculation
which John could not catch, but which he ap-
peared to throw at bis John's) head, turned
on his heel and went off toward the court-
yard of the inn.
Almighty" said old Hans, wipine his face
with q red cotton pocket handkerchief; II
have put my foot into q big hole. That stink
cat Muller heard all that l was saying to you,
and l tell you he will save it up and save it
up. and one day he will bring it all out to the
volk and call me o traitor to the land and
ruin me. l know him. He knows how to
balance a long stick on his little finger SO
that the ends keep even. Oh, yes, he can
ride two horses at once, and blow hot and
blow cold. He is q devil Of a man, a devil of
a man! And what did he mean by swearing
at you like that? Is it about the missile girl.
I wonder! Almighty who can sayl All!
that reminds me-though I'm sure l don't
know why it should've Kafirs tell me that
there Is a big herd of buck-vilderbeestc and
blesbok-on my outlying place about an hour
and a half ten miles from Mooifontein. Can
you hold o rifle, captain? You look like q bit
Of a hunter"
3Oh, yes, meinheer," said John, delighted
at the prospect of some shooting.
"Ah, l thought so. All you English are
sportsmen, though you don't know how to
kill buck. Well, now, you take ON Croft's
light Scotch cart and two good horses, and
come over to my plaee-not tomorrow, for
my wife's cousin is coming to see lis, and an
old cat she is, but RI she had FL 900 in gold
in the wagon box under her bed-nor the
next day, for it is the Lords day, and one
1 r~~fk shoot n~onk,.ao 80, A. II s. -.